


The Great Road Trip

by RelentlassHuggerSquad



Category: Professional Wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Gen, Ripstorm, roadtrip au, they're kind of friends but not really
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-13
Updated: 2019-04-11
Packaged: 2019-10-27 14:25:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17768492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RelentlassHuggerSquad/pseuds/RelentlassHuggerSquad
Summary: Rhea Ripley is depressed having just been dumped by her boyfriend, her co-worker Toni Storm has a great idea. A road trip through all 48 of the contiguous States in America. So the duo set out to visit landmarks, monuments, national parks, all while causing mayhem and getting into weird misadventures. They are trying to escape their troubles, but sometimes trouble has a way of catching up.On hiatus as of September 2019.





	1. Chapter 1

Rhea didn’t want to get out of bed, didn’t want to confront that her once fully furnished apartment was now mostly empty. Her lease was up soon so it wasn’t like it matter, her friend Toni was supposed to come and help her move the rest of her belongs out of the apartment later. Rhea honestly had no idea where she was going to go or even stay, most likely her parents would allow her to sleep on the couch for a few nights until she got herself sorted. 

It was embarrassing having to move back into her parent’s house at twenty-two after being on her own for close to five years. Embarrassing enough that Rhea was tempted to just pull her pillow back over her head and will herself to just disappear. 

The sound of her phone buzzing, caused her to groan. She could see her phone’s screensaver of her and Pete lighting up with a message from Toni. She hadn’t changed it yet, hadn’t fully processed the fact that Pete had dumped her for the daughter of the building manager. On top of that, he had pulled strings to get her evicted a month early. 

Rhea had thought she had it all planned out, her and Pete would be moving into a bigger apartment and getting engaged. Instead, she had found him with that woman, Pete instead of apology had just smirked and told her that those kinds of things happened. Then he had unceremoniously dumped her. 

He refused to talk to her, only responding when he felt like it through text. He had taken his stuff when she was at work the day before. She had come home and found her apartment completely devoid of his stuff, which was probably best for him. She had planned on throwing it all in the dumpster behind the apartment anyway. 

The phone buzzed again and Rhea grimaced, sitting up and checking it out. It was a message from Toni, telling her to open the door. Rhea didn’t even care that she wasn’t really dressed for company, Toni was one of her co-workers at the bar Rhea worked at. Rhea was a bartender much like Toni, but sometimes Rhea doubled as a sort of bouncer due to her size and muscle mass. It was true that Toni had seen Rhea way worse, than just a tank top and some boy-shorts. 

Toni took one look at Rhea and slowly pushed her sunglasses to the top of her head. “You look like you got hit by a truck mate.” 

Rhea rolled her eyes and moved to flop down on her couch. “You come over to my apartment to insult me?” 

“Nah, I came here to help you finish packing but I think you might need a drink. I brought you some of the good stuff.” Toni said holding up a bag, full of drinks and some food. 

Rhea was silent as Toni placed the items on the coffee table. She wasn’t sure how she and Toni had actually become semi-friends, they normally snarked at each other at work, yet there was a sort of chemistry there. A bond forged through drunk men hitting on them, and drunker girls sobbing to them about said, drunk men.

Toni sat down next to Rhea on the couch and sighed softly. “You know this apartment isn’t even all that great and at least you’ll get a fresh start. Maybe you could take a vacation.” Toni wasn’t sure how to lift the other blonde’s spirits but she was doing her best. 

“I haven’t been on a vacation in years. I never took a sick day.” Rhea mumbled she had been trying to save up as many days as she could for her eventual honeymoon with Pete. 

Toni uncapped a drink and took a thoughtful swig of it. “I’d go with you, we could take a trip somewhere. I mean have you ever really left Australia?”

Rhea shook her head, she had never had cause to leave. She liked where she was from, she had lived in Brisbane her whole life. 

“We should go to the USA, everybody always goes to Europe. We should go to the states for a couple months, I heard about this guy who went through all forty-eight contiguous states.” Toni suggested, a smile crossing her features. 

The taller blonde just stared at her, before bursting out laughing. “That sounds so stupid and boring, who would want to go on a road trip through forty-eight states. Besides I would never get that much time off.” 

Toni’s smile withered a bit and she looked down, like a kicked puppy. Rhea immediately felt bad, she knew that Toni was just trying to help, and she hadn’t meant to shut her down like that. 

“If we were to do this, we’d have a list of places to stop? How would we both get the time off for this.” Rhea asked, deciding to hear her out. 

Fiddling with the bottle, Toni chanced a glance at Rhea. “MyFamilyOwnsTheBar” She mumbled out softly. 

“Excuse me?” Rhea asked unsure if she had heard Toni right.

“I said my family owns the bar. Technically it’s my granddads. He owes me one because he wasn’t around a lot when I was a kid. Technically he didn’t know about having a grandkid but that’s beside the point. He’s super loaded and I’ve been saving up for a while. We can go on the trip, pick up weird side jobs along the way. Heck, we could document it and raise money that way.” Toni’s little speech was all rushed out, but she believed that it could work. 

“What about my apartment?” Rhea was confused by the fact that Toni seemed to have an answer for everything. 

 

“The one you’re losing anyway? You’re going to be living with your parents, let’s go take a vacation. Some people take leap years, you need a fresh start. There is nothing here for you Rhea.” 

Rhea snorted and shook her head, Toni’s words hitting her a little harshly. “My fresh start is somewhere in the middle of North America, I don’t know Toni. Why do you even want to do this?”

Toni frowned and fixed Rhea with a hard stare. “Please Rhea, we can take this road trip together. Maybe we’ll find you a nice American boy and you won’t have to come back to Australia and see Pete’s stupid face ever again. I am doing this because I feel guilty...that you’re sad.” 

Taking a couple months off did seem like more fun than moping around the same town as her ex. Besides what did she really have to lose, and she always had wanted to take a long distance road trip. 

“Fine, I’ll go with you. We’ll do this little road trip through the forty-eight states, but we’re going to need to raise some money first. I am also gonna need a hair cut.” Rhea muttered, dragging her fingers through her long and tangled blonde hair. 

Getting up from the couch Toni gave a little hop of excitement. “Trust me, Rhea, we’re going to have fun. We’ll raise some cash, I’ll get us a car, it’ll be great. For your hair, I think I am going to need you to trust me. Do you got some scissors?” 

Rhea nodded slowly, almost a bit scared of Toni’s sudden enthusiasm. “Yeah, I think I have some scissors unless Pete took them. They’re in the kitchen, why are you smiling at me like that?” 

Toni just giggled. “You’ll see” 

\---

“What happened to your hair?” 

Rhea met Finn’s gaze and shrugged her shoulders. “Want something new I guess.” Rhea had let Toni chop her hair short and then braid half of it, giving her a fresh and edgier look. 

“I like it,” Finn said giving her a thumbs-up. He was the assistant manager at the bar where Rhea and Toni worked, he was one of the nicer managers. He always looked out for the staff and made sure to walk the girl’s to the car after closing to make sure they made it safely. 

“Oh um, thank you, Finn,” Rhea said hesitantly, not sure of how to take the compliment. She was aware that Finn was just being kind, and she appreciated it but it still made her feel award. Nobody outside of Pete had ever taken a real interest in her. 

“So I heard you’re going on a vacation.” Becky Lynch called as she wiped down the bar. She often covered the day shift at the bar, handling the drinks so that at night she could be at training. Becky had dreams of being a pro-wrestler, which Rhea admired but wasn’t sure why Becky had come all the way to Australia to pursue it. 

“Yes, Toni sold me on this random trip idea. I haven’t had a vacation in so long and so we’re taking a couple months and working our way through the United States.” Rhea explained, she wanted to see all fifty of them, but since two of them were not exactly close by to the others, she’d have to make due. 

Becky nudged Finn, looking rather impressed. “Well, I guess that means Finn and I will have to pick up some extra shifts. Have fun and try not to get lost. Send me pictures.” 

Rhea cracked a small smile. “Sure thing Becky. I’ll be sure to send you a bunch.” Rhea announced, turning her head when she heard the bell chime to signal somebody was walking in. 

Toni was following her grandpa, talking his ear off. She stalled briefly to wave to Rhea and give her a thumbs up. Toni had told Rhea to have faith that Toni would get them the time off. It wasn’t that Rhea doubted her, the shorter blonde had the ability to sell people on just about anything. 

Still when Toni emerged a good fifteen minutes later, Rhea was surprised to see the check in her hand. “That’s a lot of zeros,” Rhea said letting out a whistle. She didn't know how Toni had convinced her granddad. "Did you have to sell our souls?"

Toni merely laughed and tucked the check into her wallet. “He asked that we make a few stops along the trip for him like publicity, for which he’ll consider our trip research and business expenses. We also kind of have to document our journey with instagram posts and what not.” 

Rhea gave her a confused look, to which Toni merely patted her arm. “Try not to think about it too much, you’ll make your head hurt. Just trust me Rhea, I got it handled. We’re going on a big trip, we just need to book the plane to the states and pick one to start in.” 

“Okay, sounds good I guess. We got some planning to do, I need to go home and pack. I’ll see you later Toni.” Rhea said feeling lighter than she had since Pete had broken her heart. She actually felt happy and hopeful. 

Becky and Finn watched Rhea leave, before they turned to look at Toni. “You haven’t told her about the fact that you slept with Pete” 

Toni shook her head. “She doesn’t need to know. I want to go on a trip with her where we can have fun. Besides if I tell her it’ll only add to her pain, I didn’t even know Pete was her boyfriend. I met him at a party, he said he was single. I only found out when he came to pick her up from work a few months back.”

“So your plan is to trap her in a car with you for months and then randomly tell her?” Finn gave a disapproving look. 

Toni sighed and stared at the ground. “They’re broken up now, do I really have to tell her. I don’t think it’s important. I would like to be her friend, and I doubt she’ll want to be friends if she finds out.”” 

Becky threw the towel she had been wiping the bar down with at Toni’s face. “She deserves better than that and you know it Toni. You need to tell her the truth, sooner rather than later. Don’t be such a coward, buying her off with a trip and money isn’t going to absolve what you did..” 

“I’ll tell her eventually, just maybe not yet.” Toni replied, throwing the towel back at Becky. She did feel guilty, if she had known that the Pete that she had met at a party was Rhea’s, she would have never slept with him. “Look I got to go, I have a trip to plan for.” She said, hurrying out the door before Finn or Becky could make her feel guilter.


	2. Chapter 2: The Grand Canyon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Aussie duo starts their adventure at the Grand Canyon in Arizona. Toni comes close to confession to Rhea about Pete.

The plane trip to get from Adelaide Australia to the airport near the Grand Canyon in Arizona had been a long one. The plane had been late and then had to stop a couple times to refuel. It was a tiring trip and it had just started, yet Rhea was thrilled when they finally got their rental car. Being away from the airport and the planes seemed to live both her and Toni’s spirits. They were in far better moods than they had been on the plane. 

“This isn’t a bad car. I kind of like it.” Rhea admitted, glancing over at Toni who was driving. Toni had volunteered to take the first driving shift, to allow Rhea to stretch out. 

“I got us a Subaru because I knew it would be roomy,” Toni admitted, adjusting her grip on the steering wheel. 

Rhea glanced out the window. “My sore body thanks you, I was getting tired of being in the cramped in the plane row.” She admitted, watching as the Grand Canyon was starting to come into view. She had been skeptical at first when Toni had said they would be starting their vacation in Arizona, but now she was thinking it was a good idea. 

“I was ready to be done too,” Toni admitted, pulling the car into the parking lot. She snagged her camera and climbed out of the car. “I bet we could get some really cool pictures along the hike.” 

Rhea grabbed her backpack, before following Toni. “That sounds good to me, it’ll be nice to walk around for a bit. I’ve heard you can take a mule ride down deeper into the canyon.” 

“I think I heard something like that too.” Toni snapped a few pictures, trying to navigate her way to where she could get some good shots of the canyon and the river below. “Were you ever much of a science person in school.” 

“Not really, I was more into math and computer classes. Science wasn’t my subject, what about you?” Rhea asked, turning her attention to Toni. “Were you a science nerd.?”

Toni gave a nod. “I was originally going to go to school to be a nutritionist. I love sciences, all of that stuff were things that I excelled at. So I suppose you could call me a science nerd.” 

Rhea laughed as she tried to imagine a nerdy Toni Storm carrying a bunch of weird heavy textbooks. “It figures you would study something like that. You seem pretty smart.” 

“Was that a compliment?” Toni asked, placing a hand dramatically over her heart. “I don’t believe it, an actual compliment from you.” 

“Don’t get used to them, I don’t want you getting spoiled.” Rhea quipped right back at her but was unable to keep from smiling. 

The duo spent the next hour exploring the upper rim of the canyon and taking various fun pictures at all of the touristy spots. The Grand Canyon was a lot larger than either of them had even thought, but they were still having a lot of fun. It was starting to get hot, however, causing them to start sweating. 

“Should we maybe rent a mule?” Toni asked, before shaking her head. “My body says never mind, it’s too sore to have to sit on a mule.” 

Rhea grumbled her agreement. “I say we find out hotel and take a nap. I’m feeling a little jet lagged.” Rhea yawned and ran a hand through her hair brushing the sweaty strands away from her neck. 

Toni glanced towards the horizon, shading her eyes with a hand. “It is getting pretty hot out here and I don’t want to get sunburned and be miserable. Let’s head back.” 

They took one last picture together before they trekked back towards the rental car. It took them a while to find their hotel, but Rhea was thankful when they finally got to check in. 

“An actual bed, I think I may cry tears of joy.” She announced, rather dramatically. Rhea flopped down on the bed and sighed as she buried her face into a pillow. “I missed having a bed, my parents have been making me sleep on the couch until I find my own place back home.”

Toni who was laying in her own bed frowned at Rhea’s words. She still hadn’t told the taller blonde about the fact that she had slept with Pete at a party. She didn’t know if it was still relevant information since Peter and Rhea were done, and he had moved on with somebody else. Still, it was eating away at her, giving her an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of her stomach. 

“Were you and Pete together for a long time?” Toni inquired, as she finally found her voice. 

Rhea visibly flinched at the mention of her ex. She was deadly still before she rolled over and turned to look at Toni. “Long enough for me to think I was going to marry him. “

“Well thank god you dodged that bullet, he’s kind of a jerk,” Toni said, not failing to see the way that Rhea seemed to deflate. “We don’t have to talk about him if it’s going to make you sad.” 

Rhea turned her attention to the ceiling, focusing on the chipping paint. “I loved him, I really did. He wasn’t always a jerk, he just became too full of himself. I guess my mistake was thinking that I meant something to him. You know he cheated on me before?”

Toni froze and swallowed hard. “R-Really? You know that for certain?” She asked, cringing as her voice cracked. She was ready for Rhea to just throw the truth out there and hit her with it.

Not seeing to notice Toni’s little falter, Rhea continued. “Yeah, my friends said they saw him at a party making out with some skinny blonde. I confronted him and he told me he had kissed somebody but it was a mistake. Clearly, I believed him, but I bet he did more than just kiss that girl.” Rhea buried her face into her hands. She felt stupid and like she had been used. 

“Rhea, I have something really important to tell you,” Toni said, willing to try and tell Rhea the truth. The girl deserved to know and Toni wanted to give her closure. Yet when Rhea finally looked at her, Toni lost her nerve. She didn’t want to cause her friend any more pain. 

“What is it?” Rhea asked, sniffling as she wiped at her eyes. She hated crying and being weak in front of Toni. 

Toni took a deep breath. “I need to tell you that you’re worth so much more. Don’t waste your tears crying over a guy who couldn’t see the precious jewel he had. You’re special Rhea, and Pete isn’t worth your tears. I’ll help you find a new guy on this trip.” She promised.

Internally Toni was beating herself up for being a coward and not coming clean. She just didn’t want to cause Rhea any more pain by bringing it up. She wasn’t sure what good it would do by reopening the old wound and throwing salt into it. Perhaps it was selfish but Toni didn’t want to lose her budding friendship with the other blonde.

“You’re really a great friend Toni, thank you. Maybe we can grab milkshakes after our nap.” Rhea suggested, wanting to buy Toni a milkshake to thank her for being a good friend. 

Toni gave a weak thumbs up. “Yeah, I’d like that.” She replied though she felt a piece of her die inside at Rhea’s undeserved praise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Will Toni ever come clean? What is the next stop on the duo's trip? I am excited to be writing this, where are some places you'd like them to visit?


	3. Chapter 3: Bryce Canyon, Utah

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thor's hammer and a faun, the duo head to Bryce Canyon in Utah.

“You know, if all we’re going to do on this trip is visit to canyons and rock formations, I am going to get bored.” Rhea wasn’t saying it to be mean, but she was being truthful. She had snuck a peek at the itinerary and noticed an insane amount of national parks and canyons on the list. Rhea didn’t mind nature and hiking but she wanted to do other things than just that. 

 

Toni glanced over at her and then gave a nervous chuckle. “Well we’re going to Bryce Canyon today, but I am willing to let you pick some different spots for us to visit. I want you to enjoy the trip too Rhea, it's your vacation as much as it is mine.” Toni mused, not wanting Rhea to get bored. 

 

“Is Bryce Canyon any different than the Grand Canyon, because once you’ve seen a grand one, can anything really top it?” Rhea questioned, though, by the smile that was starting to cross her features, Toni realized she was joking around. 

 

“You’re going to be a pain in the neck, aren’t you?” Toni rolled her eyes and pulled into the parking lot, surprised to find that apparently a lot of people were visiting. “

 

Following Toni’s lead, Rhea climbed out of the car. “Either people are really into seeing the canyon or there is some kind of event going on.” The taller Aussie mumbled, wondering what the event was. Spotting a sign towards the edge of the parking lot, she went over and inspected it. “There is a sort of astronomy festival tonight.” 

 

Toni looked a bit confused but not entirely put off. “Well, I guess if that is something you’re interested in, we could check it out.” She offered, she wanted the trip to be full of things that Rhea wanted to experience as well. Toni felt like she owed that to Rhea, she still felt guilty for the affair with Pete, and this was her way to make it up to her. 

 

“I am not positive that this festival is my cup of tea, but I am willing to check it out. I am not going to knock it until I try it.” Rhea wasn’t as much of an outgoing person like Toni was, but Rhea did appreciate chill parties and events. She was hoping that this would be a chill event and not a weird cult sort of thing. 

 

Toni nodded and grabbing her hiking pack from the back of the car, turned to her friend. “Let’s go see if we can find some cool rock formations. I read on the website that they have one called Thor’s hammer.”

 

Rhea grabbed her pack as well, before walking towards the entrance path. “That sounds interesting. Are you a fan of superheroes Toni?” 

 

“Of course who doesn’t love a good superhero story? I think I like Havoc from the X-men best, but Thor is a cutie.” Toni replied, her tone serious.

 

“You’re secretly a comic nerd, that’s kind of adorable. I think Thor, never read the comics but I’ve seen the movies. Chris Hemsworth is a good thor.” Rhea mused, staring at the different rock formations as they walked. 

 

It took the pair a bit of walking before they found the formation that was supposed to be Thor’s hammer. Toni was having a harder time seeing the picture in it. 

 

“It just looks like a rock to me,” Toni commented, her tone of voice betraying her disappointment. She had thought it would be more exciting then what she had seen so far.

 

“Toni, if you tilt your head to the side and squint a little, you’ll see it.” Rhea pointed, trying to show Toni where the handle was. “Didn’t your parents ever cloud gaze with you, where is your sense of creativity and imagination?”

 

Toni became quiet and withdrawn for a moment. “My dad wasn’t really around when I was younger and my mom worked a lot to be able to take care of the family. Cloud gazing was never high on our list of priorities.” 

 

Rhea frowned, placing a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “I am sorry that you didn’t get to cloud gaze. Your mom sounds like an amazing woman, she raised you so she must be pretty great.” Rhea said, trying to make amends for her careless words. 

 

Shrugging Toni, glancing back out towards the rock. “I guess I can kind of see where the handle of his hammer is supposed to be.” She said, tilting her head to the side and squinting as Rhea told her too. 

 

“I know it’s not the same, but my family was pretty poor growing up too. I was close with my dad, he actually helped me lift weights. He’s the one who got me into bodybuilding and wrestling.” Rhea explained, trying to be a little more open and vulnerable with Toni in return. 

 

"Explains why you are so ripped." Toni joked, giving her a nudge. "You could actually be Thor, are you worthy enough to wield Mjolnir?"

 

Rhea stared back at her blankly and then burst into laughter. "No, I fear I am not actually worthy enough to wield such a mighty weapon. I could probably rock an Ironman suit or like be the Hulk." 

 

Toni just rolled her eyes, though she probably could see Rhea smashing through a building as the Hulk. "Yeah, that would be quite the sight." 

 

As they continued to walk along, they spotted some people setting up some booths and camping tents towards the end of the trail. There was a big sign, explaining that they were part of the International Astrology Club. The two blonde women look at each other, before simultaneously deciding to check out the little event. 

 

"Welcome! the IAC's annual Astronomy Festival." Announced a rather beautiful but weirdly dressed raven-haired girl. She had a faded shirt with the word 'Brie Mode' on it, and wore a disarming smile. "Have you ever been to one?"

 

Toni shook her head. "Um, I can't say that I have. I didn't know they had these types of festivals." 

 

"Really?! Oh my gosh, Bryan! Bryan, we have some first timers." The woman called, waiting until a man with a large beard and long hair came out of one of the tents holding a baby. 

 

Rhea had to bite her lip to keep from laughing as she was clearly picturing the strange man as a faun from the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe. "Do you get a lot of first timers?" She asked, taken back by how enthusiastic the strangers seemed about the festival. 

 

"Ladies, this is my husband Bryan Danielson. I'm Brie, and he's holding our beautiful daughter Birdie." Brie explained, taking Birdie from her husband. 

 

"It's nice to meet you both." Bryan shook their hands and then gestured around them to the wide canyon. "Isn't it beautiful, it's so much more amazing at night. Are you ladies going to stick around?" 

 

"Pleasure to meet you both too," Toni said, elbowing Rhea in the ribs since the taller girl had devolved into a giggling fit. "I'm Toni and that's Rhea. I bet it would be a lovely site, but we're actually just passing through." 

 

Brie frowned at that and shook her head. "Well, I wish you could join us. We're going to have a big bonfire and check out the stars." 

 

Rhea finally had stopped laughing at the mental image in her head and cleared her throat. "That actually sounds incredible. I hope you both see a lot of stars and that a lot of people turn out for your festival." 

 

"Oh thank you," Brie said giving Rhea big hug, causing the taller girl to tense. "Sorry, I'm a hugger." 

 

Rhea forced a polite smile. "It's quite alright, anyways we should get going. Nice to meet you three." She said, before all but dragging Toni away from the festival. 

 

Once they were back to their car, Toni gave Rhea a quizzical look. "What was so funny back there?" 

 

"That man reminded me of the faun from that Narnia movie," Rhea explained, pulling up a picture of Mr. Tumnes to show Toni. "He's like a faun but dressed like a lumberjack."

 

Toni snorted and shook her head, trying to bite back a smile. "That's not nice Rhea, it's true but still not nice." She started the car and sighed softly. "Where to now?" 

 

Rhea shrugged her shoulders. "I could go for a milkshake before we go back to the hotel. With all the hiking we've been doing, I think we're going to have massive leg muscles." 

 

"At least you legs would finally match your arms." Toni deadpanned, earning a punch to the arm. "Okay, okay let's find a diner. The She-Hulk is not herself when she's tired and hungry."


	4. Chapter 4: A pit stop at heartache and betrayl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhea finds out the truth about Pete/Toni.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know if anybody is actually reading this story, but business is about to pick up. Rhea finally finds out the truth.

The sunlight peeking through the blinds was so bright that Rhea felt like her eyes were being scorched. She groaned and covered her eyes with a cheap hotel pillow, grumbling under her breath. 

 

She could hear the sound of the shower running, no doubt signaling that her traveling companion was in the shower. Rhea had learned from traveling with Toni, that the girl liked to rise early and shower. Toni was without a doubt, a certified morning person which sucked for Rhea who enjoyed sleeping in. 

 

Toni’s phone alarm was going off in an annoying beeping manner, and Rhea growled again. She sat up in the bed, grumpily throwing off the covers. “Eh Toni, your phone is going off.” She yelled out.

 

“Go ahead and shut off the alarm.” Was Toni’s muffled reply. 

 

Rhea grabbed Toni’s phone and went to shut off the alarm. However, as she shut down the application she noticed a text from Pete in Toni’s notifications. Rhea was about to put the phone down, assuming that Toni probably knew more than one Pete and it was unlikely to be Rhea’s ex, but then the phone buzzed again. 

 

Staring down at the phone, Rhea felt her heart leap into her throat. The messaging staring back at her had her name in it. 

 

**Pete: Does Rhea know the truth yet? You can’t keep ignoring me Toni, did you tell Rhea? I know you're on that stupid trip with her?**

 

Rhea wasn't sure what to think, but slowly she clicked on the message. There was a voice telling in her, in her mind not to read the texts. Not only would it be an invasion of privacy, but she had a sinking feeling she wouldn't like what she read. She decided to forward the thread to herself, knowing she would most likely need proof. 

 

Once she had forwarded herself the thread of messages, she threw Toni's phone away from herself like she had been burned. Grabbing her own phone, she cleared her throat, before calling out. "Hey, I think I am going to go for a walk, need to clear my head." 

 

Rhea didn't even give Toni time to respond before she grabbed the hotel room key and bolted from the room. The second she was outside, she took off running. She felt like she was going to be sick to her stomach and she hadn't even read the rest of the messages. She didn't know what was going on, but the sinking feeling in her gut was getting worse. 

 

When Rhea was satisfied she had gone far enough away from Toni and the hotel they had been staying at, she walked into the diner. Sitting in the corner, Rhea tried to take a couple of deep breaths before opening the thread she had messaged herself. 

 

She scrolled to the beginning of the thread, realizing that it went back well into her relationship with Pete. Eight months to be precise, right around the time she and Pete had been celebrating their anniversary. Which was exactly around the time that Pete's friends had confided to her about him making out with a skinny blonde chick. Now Rhea finally realized that the skinny blonde chick was in fact, Toni. 

 

Rage simmered underneath her skin, she was angry. Rhea had confided in Toni about Pete cheating and instead of Toni admitting that it was her, she had pretended not to know about it. Shame and embarrassment coursed through Rhea, but she tried to push it down. She steeled herself, ordering a coffee before she began to read through the messages. 

 

Right from the get-go, Pete had been flirting with Toni who was reciprocating it. It went on for a few long months before there was a long text from Toni. 

 

**Toni: Are you kidding me, Pete? You are dating Rhea Ripley? She's my co-worker, and apparently, you've been together for two years? You told me you were single!! Did you know that I worked with her? You played us both for a fool, what is the matter with you?**

**Pete: Calm down babe, yeah I'm dating Rhea. Don't do anything crazy and overreact. She doesn't have to know about us. We can keep it on the down low. We were having so much fun T-baby.**

**Toni: You're disgusting! That is wrong on so many levels, how could you do that to her?**

**Pete: It takes two to tango babe, you aren't innocent either.**

**Toni: I. DIDN'T. KNOW. YOU. HAD. A. GIRLFRIEND.**

**Pete: You aren't going to tell her right? That would hurt her.**

**Toni: She deserves to know the truth...I don't want to hurt her. Whatever this was Pete, we're done. Lose my number, I don't ever want to see you again.**

**Pete: Fine, it's your loss anyway.**

 

Rhea wasn't sure how to feel, it looked like Toni hadn't talked to Pete for months following when she found out. That was until around the time Pete had broken up with Rhea, then the messages had started back up again. It was clear that Toni took exception to Pete cheating on Rhea again. There was a whole hurricane of emotions swirling in Rhea's chest, making her feel dizzy. Was she happy that Toni was defending her or was she angrier that Toni still hadn't told her?

 

**Toni: You broke up with her, after cheating on her again? You are seriously the lowest of low, there's a special kind of punishment for sick people like you. She deserves way better than you Pete.**

**Pete: What do you care? I thought you didn't want to talk to me ever again? Did you come back for seconds, I'm always available for a second go round.**

**Toni: Ewww. No, I don't want anything to do with you, I hate your guts. I just can't believe you'd hurt her again.**

**Pete: I was bored, can you blame me. Don't get all soft on me now Toni, do you actually care about your little friend? If you did why didn't you tell her? I am sure she and the rest of your co-workers would love to hear about our affair. She'd hate you as much as she hates me. They all would.**

**Toni: Shut your face, Pete, do us both a favor and stay away from Rhea or I swear to God...Becky and Finn already know, and they don't want to see you at the bar. So make yourself scarce.**

**Pete: Whatever loser, you both are garbage girlfriends anyways.**

 

Rhea set her phone down, trying to control the feelings of anger swirling in her gut. She was livid at Pete for cheating on her multiple times and not being man enough to confess it to her face. She was hurt and angry at Toni for not telling the truth. Rhea wasn't sure how to process everything that she was feeling. 

 

Toni had broken things off with Pete which Rhea appreciated, but the fact that Toni knew and kept it from her, that hurt the worst. Besides, it seemed from the messages that the rest of the bar staff knew and hadn't told Rhea. It felt like she had been stabbed by so many different people, she didn't even know who to trust. 

 

"Are you okay sweetheart? You look like you might throw up." The waitress said, bringing Rhea another coffee.

 

Rhea shook her head, blinking back tears. "I just found out my ex cheated on me with a friend, and the friend didn't tell me," Rhea muttered, burying her face in her hands. 

 

"Oh wow, do you want a piece of pie? It's on the house." The woman offered, feeling bad for Rhea. 

 

Rhea sniffled and sighed. "Yeah, that'd be great." 

 

Trying to process and work through her feelings, Rhea was more angry at Pete because he had cheated on her more than once. Even more than that, she was angry at her supposed 

 

Grabbing her phone, she decided to text Becky. 

 

**Rhea: Rebecca Quinn, you're a real piece of work. You knew that Toni and Pete had an affair and you didn't tell me. I thought we were friends, how long did you know? Why didn't you tell me?**

**Becky: Wait, who told you? Did Toni?**

**Rhea: No, I had to find out myself. You should have told me, she should have told me. I bet you all had a nice laugh about it, dumb Rhea to stupid to realize she's been played like a fiddle.**

**Becky: Rhea it wasn't like that. I didn't think it was my place to tell you. Toni's my friend too and I didn't want to throw her under the bus.**

**Rhea: Well I see what friendship you value more. I don't want to talk to any of you ever again.**

 

Back in the hotel room. Toni had just gotten out of the shower. She was getting dressed when her phone started buzzing like crazy? Picking it up, she saw that she had two missed calls from Becky and at least four texts messages. 

 

**Becky: Please tell me you aren't dead or dying somewhere in a ditch?**

**Becky: Dude Rhea is so angry at you, why didn't you give me a heads up that she knew. I know I told you to tell her, but I thought you'd give us some warning.**

**Becky: I swear Toni, you better fix things with Rhea, she's coming for all of our heads. She officially hates us all. Why didn't you just come clean about Pete in the beginning, it would have saved us all this trouble.**

**Becky: Are you alive?!?**

 

Toni felt her heart quicken, quickly shooting a text back to Becky, asking her what she was talking about. 

 

**Becky: Rhea knows about you and Pete. I think she read your text messages, I am surprised she hasn't tried to beat you up yet.**

**Toni felt like she was going to vomit. She had planned to tell Rhea of course, but she thought she would do it on her own time. She didn't think she'd be forced to do it like this, let alone this early into the trip. She had been waiting for the right time.**

**Toni: She knows? She's not in the hotel room right now, I don't know where she is. What do I do Becky?**

**Becky: You find her and apologize, she's blocked my number now. I tried calling her. Has she blocked your number yet?**

 

Toni wasn't sure if Rhea had blocked her number yet, but she knew she had to talk to her and apologize. As scared as she was, she didn't want to make Rhea hate her anymore. It was time to buck up and face the music, if Rhea wanted to yell or punch then Toni would let her. 

 

Calling Rhea, she was almost sure that the taller Australian wasn't going to answer, but at the last second, Toni heard Rhea's voice. 

 

"What do you want Toni?" 

 

"Rhea, where are you? Can we please talk this out?" Toni asked, hoping she could find Rhea and settled up. She had never meant to hurt her friend, not in that way. 

 

A long sigh came from the other end of the line. "I honestly don't think I can even look at you without wanting to vomit. You betrayed me, everybody did. I read the message thread, and I appreciate that you broke things off when you found out, but you should have told me. You should have been woman enough to tell me right then. 

 

"I am sorry Rhea, I really am. I was scared, I didn't want to hurt you. We were finally becoming friends and you seemed so happy with Pete, I didn't want to wreck it." Toni admitted, her voice shaking. She began to pace in the hotel room, wishing she knew how to make things right. 

 

"I was happy Toni, but all I feel right now is sick to my stomach. Do you know how embarrassing it is to find out you've been cheated on and everybody knows? Tell me, why did you really invite me on this trip? Was it to clear your guilty conscious?"

 

Toni frowned, knowing she deserved every ounce of the anger she heard coming from Rhea. "Yes, I thought maybe if I took you on the trip I could make up for what I did. I was going to tell you, I just didn't know how." 

 

Rhea was audibly crying now, and it broke Toni's heart. "I got to go, Toni, I need some time to think. Don't call me, I'll call you when I'm ready to talk." 

 

With that Rhea hung up, leaving Toni feeling more guilty and ashamed then she had felt before.


	5. Chapter 5: Yellow Stone National Park

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Toni and Rhea make it to Yellow Stone National Park and have some IIconic tour guides.

Toni Storm felt like she was walking on eggshells with Rhea. When the taller Aussie had finally returned to the hotel room, Toni had noticed that Rhea still wouldn't make eye contact with her. Truly Toni understood where Rhea was coming from, she could understand that the woman felt betrayed. She hadn't meant to cause Rhea pain, though selfishly she felt relief that there was no longer that secret weighing her down. 

 

Rhea hadn't wanted to talk, she had insisted that they'd talk later but for now she just needed time to think. Rhea had been absolutely silent for the rest of the day when they had gone to visit the Craters of the Moon monument. Toni had tried to crack jokes and puns, anything she could think of to make Rhea smile. Rhea was proving to be a tough nut to crack, and Toni was too scared to push things too far. 

 

So eventually Toni had resolved to be silent as well, choosing instead to listen and pay attention to Rhea's sparse comments. She realized that the other woman was having to process a lot of things. When they made their way to the car at the end of the day, Rhea finally broke the silence for good. 

 

"Where are we going tomorrow?" Rhea questioned, climbing into the passenger seat of the car. 

 

Toni was so surprised that Rhea was finally speaking to her, that she didn't know what to say at first. "What do you mean?"

 

Rhea shrugged her shoulders and slumped down in her seat. "I mean what are we going to do tomorrow? We toured the craters of the moon, what did you have planned for tomorrow." 

 

"Well next on our road trip is supposed to be Yellowstone National Park... but if that is not something that would interest you we could check something else out." Toni offered, ready to be accommodating and do whatever she could to get back in Rhea's good graces. She hated the fact that she had hurt Rhea and ruined their friendship, she wanted to fix it. 

 

"We can go there, I have heard they got cool wolves there," Rhea said, not wanting Toni to have to change her plans. Rhea had calmed down considerably and even though she was hurt that Toni hadn't told her the truth sooner, she was willing to let it go. Holding onto the anger and the resentment would only be bringing Rhea down and she wanted to enjoy her trip.

 

Toni was confused but nodded slowly, she hadn't even known that Rhea liked wolves. "Um alright, if you're still down to do that, then I am down." She said, glad that Rhea hadn't totally gone crazy on her. 

 

“Sure, that is fine with me. I’d like to see the wolves.” Rhea said, before turning her attention to the passenger side window. 

 

“We’ll see the wolves then,” Toni replied, before letting the conversation trail off. She wasn’t going to force or press Rhea to have more of a conversation. Toni was thankful that Rhea had at least broken the ice and was willing to have words with her. 

 

The long car ride from Idaho to Wyoming took the next couple of days, but Toni was okay with that. She was still reluctant to push Rhea, but they had settled for taking shifts driving. Rhea seemed to be far happier behind the wheel when she was in control of driving. By the time they had finally rolled into the area surrounding Yellowstone, a lot of the tension had dissipated from between them. Rhea was finally smiling and Toni didn’t feel like she was walking around on eggshells as she had been before.

 

Wyoming was beautiful, the scenery hadn't disappointed either of the Aussies at all. When they parked their car in the lot, they found themselves being drawn towards the voices of what sounded to be other Australians. 

 

"Welcome to the Yellowstone National Park, Iconic Tour. My name is Billie, and this right here is my tour guide partner Peyton." Billie called, gesturing to Peyton who had on a sort of safari hat. 

 

Peyton beamed a massive smile as a crowd of people, including Toni and Rhea gathered around for their little tour. "We're the IIconics, the best tour guides in all of the National Parks. We are glad you picked us to lead you around." 

 

Rhea and Toni exchanged glances but shrugged and decided to go along with it. Having a guided tour of the park sounded like a bit of fun and a good time killer. They followed Peyton and Billie, keeping up with the tour group, as Peyton was explaining how the wolves had been reintroduced to the park. 

 

"Originally many wolves were hunted in this here area, they were actually on the extinct list. But from 1995 to 1997, forty-one wolves were reintroduced into the Yellowstone National park." Peyton explained, with a broad smile on her face. It made her happy that the wolves were making a significant comeback. 

 

"Now there are close to five hundred and twenty-eight wolves in the greater Yellowstone area, although only about a hundred or so actually reside in the park." Billie added, before pointing out the various impacts that the wolves had had on the environment and ecosystem."

 

Rhea pulled out her phone, taking a few pictures of the beautiful nature scenes. "You know I never thought I would be somewhere beautiful like this. I had always wanted to travel the world, I just think I eventually gave up on those dreams." 

 

Toni glanced over at her, a deep frown settling on her features. "I know you don't want to talk about it, but I am sorry. Pete is a total loser for not seeing the wonderful woman he had when he was with you. You deserve to see the world Rhea, every single beautiful thing." Toni said, giving Rhea a little nudge. 

 

Rhea was deathly silent for a moment, the only sound she made was the steps she took. She still felt like there was a storm brewing full of emotions, but she knew that she needed to forgive Toni and Pete. Rhea knew she owed it to herself to let it go, she deserved to be happy. 

 

"I forgive you, Toni, I forgive Pete too. I don't think I am going to be getting back with him, but I forgive him. It's for my own benefit too, I choose to release that forgiveness because I want to live a happy life. I want to travel the world and not have a dark cloud of nastiness surrounding me." Rhea said after a moment, taking a deep cleansing breath, before releasing it. She felt a lot better, having just released all of the negativity and heartache she was holding. 

 

"Aye, you two back there, you're interrupting our speeches mate," Billie called, giving them a disapproving look. 

 

Peyton was frowning at them also. "Definitely not IIconic what you are doing. We're giving a nature lecture here, pay attention." 

 

Rhea and Toni shared another look, both of them trying not to bust out laughing. "We apologize for being rude, please continue," Toni said gesturing for the two tour guides to continue. Apparently, the IIconics had been in the middle of talking about how the different geysers played important roles in the park's ecosystem. 

 

When they were finally done with the tour, Toni made sure to stop at the gift shop and get Rhea a little wolf plushie. She figured that would help continue to mend their friendship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I hope you all are enjoying this story, feel free to check out my other writings. All your views, kudos, and comments mean so much to me. So don't be shy and let me know what stories you love.


End file.
